autochthonous: Meaning and Definition of

au•toch•tho•nous

Pronunciation: (ô-tok'thu-nus), [key]
— adj.
  1. pertaining to autochthons; aboriginal; indigenous (opposed to heterochthonous).
    1. found in the part of the body in which it originates, as a cancerous lesion.
    2. found in a locality in which it originates, as an infectious disease.
  2. of or pertaining to ideas that arise independently of the individual's own train of thought and seem instead to have some alien or external agency as their source.
  3. (of rocks, minerals, etc.) formed in the region where found. Cf. allochthonous.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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